"Dr. Prisoner" tops weekly chart on debut week

"Dr. Prisoner," a new medical crime drama by KBS2, topped the weekly TV popularity chart in its debut last week, data showed Wednesday.

Debuting on the small screen on March 20, the Wednesday-Thursday series garnered a Content Power Index (CPI) score of 296.2 for the week of March 18-24, landing atop the weekly TV chart compiled jointly by CJ ENM and Nielsen Korea.

Starring Namkoong Min and Kim Byung-chul, the series follows an ousted university hospital doctor's pursuit of revenge against a villainous member of a chaebol family.

The elite surgeon, played by Namkoong, finds a job as a medical director at a state prison where he has the power to get people out of their sentences on medical grounds.

Kim plays the main character's boss, also a doctor, who tries to cover up his incompetence with special ties to high-status prisoners.

The series heralds Kim's second straight portrayal of a villain, following his attention-drawing role as a dictatorial father and law professor in the popular JTBC drama series "Sky Castle."

"Dr. Prisoner" screenplay writer Park Gye-ok has said its main theme is "winning against unrighteous people in an unrighteous manner against the backdrop of the large gap between the ideal and reality."

No. 2 on the weekly TV chart went to MBC's long-running variety show "I Live Alone," and No. 3 was the SBS drama series "The Fiery Priest."

The former earned a CPI score of 238 and the latter garnered a 230.9 CPI.

The CPI, created by CJ ENM and Nielsen Korea, measures the level of popularity, social media presence and influence on consumer behavior of entertainment TV programs aired on the three major terrestrial networks -- MBC, SBS and KBS -- and the seven cable channels owned by CJ ENM, including tvN, Mnet and OCN, during prime time.

JTBC, another cable network that airs some highly popular entertainment shows and dramas, is not included in the index.

I actually really like it thus far! A lot of dramas this year have been a miss for me but this one has caught my attention with the first two episodes. Namgoong Min is really good and charismatic. Some of the medical situations are inaccurate but that's pretty common amongst medical dramas. it only bothers me because im in the health care field lol.